1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to door lock devices for motor vehicles, and more particularly, to automotive door lock devices of a type which has an interchanger-installed cover plate fixed to a lock proper for operatively connecting various external controllers, such as, outside door handle, inside door handle, locking knob and the like to a lockable latch mechanism of the lock proper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto, various types of door lock devices have been proposed and put into practical use particularly in the field of wheeled motor vehicles.
One of them is shown in Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication 64-21186, which generally comprises a lock proper which has a lockable latch mechanism engageable with a striker fixed to a vehicle body and an interchanger-installed cover plate which is fixed to the lock proper for operatively connecting various external controllers of the door (such as, outside door handle, inside door handle, locking knob and the like) to the lockable latch mechanism of the lock proper.
The lock devices of this type can be commonly and widely used in various doors by only changing the cover plate.
However, the common usage of the lock devices of this type is not available in a field wherein two types of connecting members, viz., rod-type connecting member and cable-type connecting member, are selectively used for connecting the external controllers with the latch mechanism of the lock proper.